Kevin Costner once said he thought of Field of Dreams as the It's a Wonderful Life of his generation and whilst that's not entirely accurate, it certainly aims pretty high. The protagonist is your 'average Joe', who has a safe, comfortable life but must do something meaningful in order to have purpose. So he builds a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield essentially to connect with his dead father, a father who raised him solo and perhaps didn't do the best job possible.

Sure it's fairly schmaltzy and there's a fair amount of cheddar here but underneath all of that yellow layering, Field of Dreams possesses a solid serving of heart. And I think that's why the film sees beyond its own cheese and resonate with its intended audience — most likely men, who dream big, who perhaps didn't connect 100% with their fathers, etc... I watched this with my wife and she really enjoyed it too though so that 'intended audience' isn't entirely black and white. But it certainly taps perhaps more into the male psyche.

I've never been a huge Costner fan but he's pretty much perfect casting here. Costner in later years just tends to bore me (or perhaps he's just bored of the roles he gets and doesn't have the passion for them like he once did). James Earl Jones lends some solid support as Terrance Mann, essentially a fictional version of J.D. Salinger and Amy Madigan is quite good as Costner's wife Annie.

In terms of using baseball as the connecting tissue between Costner's character and his dad, that will probably pay off more for baseball fans than those who don't follow the sport. I'm not a fan (although I'd definitely see a few games if I lived in the States) and I don't think you need to be to enjoy Field of Dreams. You just have to give the film the benefit of the doubt. And if you can stand some cheese and a little bit of Hollywood old-school magic, then Field of Dreams is well worth a viewing.

— Also I should probably shout-out a mention to John Lindley's stunning cinematography. It captures the summertime vibe so well and that 35mm print looks fantastic. James Horner's score is also highly memorable too. Before Horner became a hack of his own work, he produced some classic film scores and this is one of them.

I've seen Predator a number of times over the years and goddamn does it get better with age. Action films come and go, most don't stand the test of time but with John McTiernan behind the wheel, Predator is in safe hands. McTiernan was one of the best action directors of the 80's and he's great at building tension and shooting an action scene. Add in the creature effects by Stan Winston (who, and correct me if I'm wrong, was given a sketch of the Predator design by James Cameron on a flight one time), Alan Silvestri's kick-ass score, and Schwarzenegger in his prime and it's a recipe for timeless fun.

Now I'm not a huge fan of remakes and sequels but I am sorta excited about Shane Black's sequel to arrive in 2016. Black is a great action writer (he also starred in the original as Hawkins) and he's also directing this one so I think it's probably going to be the best sequel we're going to get that feels like the original. Well... fingers crossed!

— How the hell was this given a Metacritic ranking of 36/100? Looking at the aggregate, those reviews were based in 1987 but I guarantee if those reviewers watched it again today, they would be kicking themselves.

Like any nostalgic movie trip, seeing a film first at an impressional age is likely to influence your views on it later in life. Especially when you have fond, fond memories of it. The Crow is one such example.

I first saw the film in theatres back in 1994 and I vividly remember the experience — it was phenomenal! The set design, Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, the 90's soundtrack and score, the antagonists, the gothic nature of it and the blood-soaked revenge. It all blended together perfectly as the ultimate violent anti-superhero fare. James O'Barrs comic book series finally came together on screen.

Watching it again in 2015 one thing became more apparent than it did back in 94 — it's not particularly intelligent. The dialogue is fairly average despite some nice little moments here and there. This isn't on the cinematic level of say Christopher Nolans The Dark Knight however it still holds up incredibly well if you take as it is — a genre product of its time. The Crow encapsulated the 90's grunge era well whilst riding off the back of the success of Tim Burton's Batman films. At the time, this was one of the coolest films out there. But even to this day the film has a loyal, dedicated fan base (likely due to its gothic tendencies).

Of course the film still plays ultimately sad due to the unfortunate accidental death of its star. Lee was (and probably will always be) the definitive Eric Draven. The films storyline coupled with his passing makes this depressing to watch. He makes a star making turn here which would have propelled him well.

I guess those coming to The Crow for the first time might not appreciate it as much as those did first seeing it in theatres. But I'd like to think the film will continue to shine as an example of the grunge era and for Lee's memorable performance.

There's been some polarising discussion on this film but it feels unwarranted. It's Hollywood, it's Clint Eastwood, and it's based on Chris Kyle's book. So going into the film with that prior knowledge, you should know what to expect.

I found American Sniper much like the TV series Homeland — Incredibly unnerving at times, characters who are flawed but have likeable qualities, but ultimately the experience as a whole is mildly ridiculous. I think if you go into American Sniper without taking it too serious, you'll probably find it entertaining, especially if you don't mind American war movies.

Nearly two weeks after seeing Whiplash and I'm still blown away by its intensity. It's just one of those great films that gets under your skin and sticks.

J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller are both phenomenal here as teacher and student and although the genre isn't new, the way this one is executed feels fresh. I loved the shallow DOF camerawork to get you inside the characters heads and on a small budget, it helps sell the visuals.

Perhaps the most terrifying thing about Whiplash is two fold — that there are people like J.K. Simmons character in great positions of power and that to them, think they are doing the world a favour. Amazing.

Drew's work has always been a part of my movie going life and it was great to finally see this tribute to arguably the most iconic movie poster artist of all time. To hear how he completed the The Thing (1982) poster overnight was just incredible. EVERYONE remembers that poster. It's burned into your nostalgic brain!

Drew comes across as a genuinely lovely, humble guy who just loves to create art — all day, everyday. Although through the years he had to bend to the studios, he still had huge amounts of freedom in his artistic expression. That's pretty rare when you create for money these days.

Sadly Drew has retired* from producing movie posters and now creates his own art under his own schedule, which is the dream for most artists I think.

* = Though rumours of him doing the Episode VII poster is probably going to eventuate.

Zemeckis and Hanks are a good fit for Hollywood motion pictures. They just seem to gel. Every film they've done together works extremely well on many levels but perhaps none more so than 'entertainment'. Zemeckis has a knack for creating magic on screen and even though it's just Hanks on an island for the majority of the running time, there's sprinkles of genius in nearly every scene. Zemeckis is one of my favourite director's who uses CGI intelligently. He blends it in better than most. Go watch the behind-the-scenes stuff on this one to see what I mean.

Cast Away still holds up 15 years later and I caught this one on summer TV last night. It's one of those films that if it's screening, I just can't not watch. Yeah it's schmalzy at the beginning and end and the best parts are on the island but as I get older, that ending scene chokes me up a little. I know it's manipulating me senseless but I also know this is a Robert Zemeckis film. He was Spielberg's protégée after all. He's as old-school Hollywood (okay well 80's old-school) as they come but he's an incredibly talented filmmaker who knows his craft well. And Cast Away is a great Zemeckis film.

There's just something very likable with Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I'll always have a soft spot for it. It's not particularly great or hilarious by any means but the cast, the songs, the Godfather sequence, and just the general positive vibes it gives off make it impossible for me to loathe.

A slow and measured film from the direction through to the performances, Foxcatcher is an exceptionally directed film. I can't say I loved the film but it was well made and Steve Carrell is almost unrecognisable.

It's no Risky Business but you can tell the filmmakers put some love in for this 2004 teen rom-com. I hadn't seen this since it came out so I was interested to see how it aged. Not too bad really. The songs are still memorable (this soundtrack must have cost a packet) and Eliza Cuthbert still is perfect casting.

Gyllenhaal gives the best performance of his career thus far as he disappears into the slimiest sociopath that is Louis Bloom. Or is that Travis Bickle?

The film reminded me quite of lot of those 70's Hollywood films with a social agenda. The gorgeous nighttime photography from Robert Elswit coupled with Gyllenhaal physical transformation and wide-eyed performance make this modern day commentary on the news industry a must-see. It's not perfect but it's certainly well realised.

]]>James STop 5 Films of 2014http://letterboxd.com/hooverdust/list/top-5-films-of-2014/ letterboxd-list-470201Sat, 3 Jan 2015 01:09:13 +1300We tend to get some US releases later so my Top 5's for the year might differ from yours.

]]>James SSpielberg Rankedhttp://letterboxd.com/hooverdust/list/spielberg-ranked/ letterboxd-list-359990Wed, 16 Jul 2014 00:22:21 +1200Spielberg ranked in terms of his best to worst film. I haven't actually seen ALL of his films so this list is kinda lame until I do...

]]>James SHalloween Franchise (Ranked)http://letterboxd.com/hooverdust/list/halloween-franchise-ranked/ letterboxd-list-279041Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:32:57 +1300How I ranked the Halloween franchise. I'm a 30 something year old so what I liked as a teenager greatly differs to what I like now...

]]>James SYou built a time machine out of a DeLorean?http://letterboxd.com/hooverdust/list/you-built-a-time-machine-out-of-a-delorean/ letterboxd-list-4262Sun, 4 Dec 2011 21:43:44 +1300I wish I could go back in time and watch these 80's favourites again for the first time

]]>James SOh the horror!http://letterboxd.com/hooverdust/list/oh-the-horror/ letterboxd-list-2665Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:05:37 +1300These are my favourites, the one's that stand the test of time and have a decent amount of scares/atmosphere